Republican history of Lourenne
Lourenne has had a history divided between republican and monarchist government. Republican government is generally divided into two distinct periods. 2375-2407: First period The elections of 2375 ushered in the short-lived Second Republic. As no formal political parties existed, the people chose from their local leaders, and seats in the newly established parliament were distributed along strictly proportional lines. Voter fraud was rampant, however, and lists of 'banned persons' ensured that over 90% of the seats would go to long-standing supporters of the rebel movement, most of whom were Orinco. Though this led to frequent accusations of illegitimacy, the new regime vowed to move forward. Situated in an old colonial palace on the northern coast of Kreshar, two large voting blocs emerged: the militant federalists of the New Revolution Alliance and the leftist nationalists of the Unity Coalition. The New Revolution Alliance held a slim majority, though under the rules of the new constitution, this was all that was needed to impose nearly absolute rule. Soon after party loyalties cemented, Balthazar de Kundir, a well-regarded leader of the rebel movement, was chosen to replace the provisional prime minister. The New Revolution Alliance's goal was to dismantle the remaining vestiges of the colonial order. This involved an ambitious program of reform, focused primarily on empowering provincial governments, a measure they hoped would give locals more power over the cultivation and sale of their natural resources. In one of the few lasting changes the New Revolution Alliance instituted, Kreshar was divided in two to prevent the wealthier industrial north from dominating the agrarian south. The boldest reform, however, was a series of 'labor reparation' initiatives, a wealth redistribution program they hoped would finally put an end to Lourenne's class system. Resistance among Lourenne's merchant class was fierce, however, and despite Prime Minister de Kundir's imposing presence, there was too little civil cooperation to bring this program to fruition. In 2380, new elections were held. Aided by a stagnant economy and widespread perception that the new government unfairly favored rural laborers, the Unity Coalition greatly expanded its share of parliament. Where the New Revolution Alliance's majority had been slim, the Unity Coalition came to hold 65% of the seats, an outcome that most saw as a mandate to repeal many of the first parliament's more drastic reforms. However, the Unity Coalition soon ran into controversy itself. It re-privatized numerous industries, returning them to the wealthy industrialists and traders who had briefly fled the country during the chaos of 2374. In 2383, radical militants stormed several factories in New Kreshar and commandeered them 'for the nation', and initially, the government remained quiet. Both sides' moves proved a miscalculation, as large segments of the population were dually outraged that militants would betray the Second Republic and that the government would let this occur. Bowing to pressure, Saul Gachet, an Orinco academic who had risen to the office of prime minister, declared martial law in the eastern provinces, publicly declaring that parliament had to decisively legitimize itself through force. Though many supported this measure, the New Revolution Alliance and its allies angrily insisted that Gachet was overreaching. When the Republican Army, which had been greatly expanded in the first two years of the Unity Coalition's rule, seized a militia fortress in Kreshar, Balthazar de Kundir led his party out of parliament, threatening civil war if Prime Minister Gachet did not restrain himself. An emboldened Gachet, however, would not back down, and direct conflict between Republican forces and federalist militias soon flared. This time, however, the rebels found large portions of the Orinco population unwilling to support them. They were able to maintain their resistance, but they lacked the popular influence needed to mount retaliatory offensives. In 2385, Prime Minister Gachet canceled the elections, and vowing to unify the country once and for all, he dissolved the Second Republic, rewriting the constitution to give himself authoritarian power. The move was unpopular, but Gachet had been careful to secure the support of both the merchant class and the military, using money from the former to bribe and modernize the latter. By this time, the Republican Army was, truly, a pan-Lourennian force, which diminished the effectiveness of the militias' usual tactic of provoking ethnic tension. By 2391, the militias were largely subdued, and Gachet, now calling himself President of the Third Republic, declared victory. Shortly after, however, he was assassinated by an unaffiliated anarchist, leaving behind no obvious successor. The government, hesitant to hold elections out of fear that it would only embolden federalist rebels and hinder the reconciliation process, voted amongst themselves to select Emmanuel Saint-Jean, a charismatic trade magnate, as president. Saint-Jean had largely purchased his support, though he was known in the nationalist political sphere for his populist public image. Saint-Jean maintained martial law for several more years while he consolidated power among his allies in industry, all the while promising elections at the end of his self-imposed six-year tenure. The elections never came, and when Saint-Jean stepped down, the presidency was assumed by a loyal bureaucrat determined to maintain this new order. 2438-2704: Second period The Free Republic of Lourenne was established in 2438 lasting several decades and is cited as the most stable period of Lourenne's history. The Free Republic was founded on the basis of "freedom, democracy, and liberty." During this time period the people of Lourenne enjoyed living under a responsible government that catered to the rights of the people. The Socialist Fiasco The elections of 2450 caused a massive upset in the young republic. Several new socialist parties, led by President Stephen Ramirez of the Secular Party, took control of the legislative and executive branches, rapidly establishing a socialist infrastructure that sought to nationalize all domestic industry, to provide free health care, education, and welfare to all citizens, and to end capitalist enterprises in Lourenne. Although the relevant legislation passed successfully, the government's total lack of funds and infrastructure caused a critical failure in the plan, and the ineffective socialism was massively unpopular with voters in 2454. For dismantling the military and making threats against the children of their political enemies, the Secular Party was censured by Parliament in 2456, after most of their socialist legislation had been reversed. During their brief tenure, the socialists established Subsistence Offices around the country for the distribution of food, water, health care, and wages to all citizens. In practice, the Offices were ineffective, and civil unrest was excessive. Part of the military splintered off into its own entity in Mont Xinyar, Kundir, ludicrously declaring the city to be its own sovereign nation. The supposed revolution collapsed in on itself within a month, as the city stopped receiving food shipments and had no agricultural infrastructure of its own. The result was a bloody skirmish between various members of the splintered army, various sects within the city, and the city's police force. In a telling sign of the dismal state of Lourenne, the rest of the country took little notice of this event. Decentralization The anti-socialist Economic Liberty Party, Redemption Party, and Society For A Free And Safe Lourenne rallied behind Walter Bagehot in 2454, successfully reclaiming the presidency and the legislature. The cabinet was restructured in April of 2455 and filled with decentralist Ministers who would retain their posts until 2467, twelve years later. The Secular Party's legislation was reversed, law by law, over the course of two or three years, and the party eventually disbanded. After that, the decentralists pushed through a platform of near-total federalism, leaving the details of most laws to local governments. The anti-socialist parties soon turned against one another; when the SFAFASL grew unpopular, senators from the Redemption Party began to oppose the ELP, calling the party "worthless" and "lazy." In an ironic turn of events, the decentralists had their worst in-fighting over where the national capitol building should be built. The Parliament had been rotating between cities every year, It met most regularly in Lac des Lumières, Kreshar, Valois, Carolleux, and St. Domitius, Haboves, but concerns were raised over costs, and many times a legislative quorum was difficult to establish. After a senator from Solinville, Haboves insulted the province of Carolleux, the Proletarian Relief Party marched out of Parliament, and has only sporadically voted by post, invariably contrary to the majority, prohibiting the legal establishment of a national capital. In April of 2469, the Economic Liberty Party participated in a similar protest and no longer participates in the legislature. The dearth of parties allowed new parties to gain power, including the Lourenne Democratic Party, the Progressive Party, and the Old Guard Party. The Socialist Reformist Party rebranded itself which helped to improve the public's view of socialism by distancing itself from the early 50s regime and focusing on the more humanitarian aspects of socialism. In 2471, the legislature was renamed the Senate and moved to a new capitol building in Valois. In 2481, the Senate expanded from 100 to 200 senators. In the mid 2480's, a number of socialistic parties came into existence and quickly gained influence and won a landslide victory in the 2487 election. However, when the Nationalist Party called for early elections, the old parties (The Democrats, PP, and OGP) of Lourenne joined an alliance to take back the government. They succeeded in putting Lucié Ormancey, a Democrat, in the presidency with a Progressive VP. Socialism vs. Nationalism With the election of Johannes Hermann von Lugendorf as President socialism made a huge comeback. Along with aid from the Lourennian Nationalist Party the People's Power Party instituted a huge amount of social, economic, and military reforms, which have been heavily opposed by the New Republic Party. Lourenne had in effect become a Socialist state. The military had become a major player and of great importance to the government. The government nationalized almost all industries and imposed heavy regulations on those that remained. The PPP also put forward bills to increase the sized of the Senate to 450 seats. These seats would also be distributed equally between the provinces. A resolution proposed by the LNP called ORIALS was passed which set the stage for possible territorial conflict with Sekowo over the legal status of native Lourennians in Sekowo. However, the situtation was resolved when the resolution was repealed by the NRP and the PPP. Not long after the OGP reappeared on the political scene taking over the presidency. However, in the first years of 28th century the party went mad with power, when their ally the New Republic Party joined the OGP. This led to three years of oppression and in its wake, the Golden Kingdom of Lourenne was founded. Category:History of Lourenne